Dogs

On a recent trip to visit our son and his family on the coast, I snapped this picture of our puppy, O'Reilly happily playing with Astro. The size difference is interesting, and seemed to make no difference to the dogs. What fun they had!
This puppy has been a blessing to me. We've almost always had dogs since I was a child, but after Walter (our terrier mix) died 5 years ago, I didn't want any more. Then I began thinking about how much I loved having one... and also about how much trouble they are! My daughter Pam talked me into "just looking" at puppies, and then I was lost.
O'Reilly has been so much fun. It is also kind of like having a new baby in the house at first. He is a smart little guy though, and learns quickly. I also decided to take a training class for the first time in my life. We had always just gotten a dog and loved it and played with it, and put up with things because that's just the way it is. This time, I wanted a well-behaved dog. Partly because my 84 year old mother is living with us, and I didn't want the dog to jump on her, or trip her. I thought it would be good to get some pointers. Oh my! It's like little miracles when you know how to teach them. Then the trick is to try to be smarter than the dog!